Before only After
by Iemarya
Summary: Cloud & Vincent have always been friends. But now, as a new challenge arises, the two will journey to find out who they both really are. Pairings:CxOC Maybe VxC. Who knows Flashback Pairings: VxOC. R&R?
1. Prologue: Empty Fate

Ok. Let me just state now that I have _never_ played FFVII before. I am basing this story off of what I know from Advent Children. It may become a Yaoi fic between Cloud & Vincent, so all people out there who are homophobia, please be aware of that. Thank you. 

**Lyrics from: One-Winged Angel

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**Prologue: Empty Fate

_Come, come O come. Do not let me die._

Cloud walked again though the ruins of Midgar. As he stepped on the ashes and remains of a City he once knew, he felt an anger inside.

_Burning inside with violent anger._

As Cloud turned around, he looked straight into the eyes of Vincent, one of his only true friends.

"Are you ok?" Vincent asked Cloud. He could tell that Cloud became upset whenever he came to the ruins.

"I will be." Cloud repiled to his conceren friend. As Cloud walked passed Vincent, Vincent was a bit hurt. How was he ever going to tell Cloud what he felt, if he didn't have the courage to say it.

_Fate- monstrous & empty._

Vincent followed his friend back to the house they had built together. After Tifa & Aries passed away, they were really the only two left. Cloud walked to the little shrine they had built for there fallen comrads. Some had died due to Kadaj or Sephiroth. Some had died because of the Geostigma & others had died, because they needed to. Cloud stopped by Aries grave & placed flowers he had gotten from her Church & placed them on her grave & left. Vincent waited until Cloud left. Then, he went to a tree where a single stone rest.

"Lucia..." he said. "I'll find a way to bring you back. I promise." Vincent placed a single black rose on the stone & left. After he had gone inside, the wind picked up & moved the rose off of the stone & into the water, where it gently floated away.

_Glorious & noble...

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_YAY! The Prologue is done! YAY:Parties: I am very pleased with it. A lot of it won't make sense till later, but that's good right? LOL! Anyways, please leave a review. I'd really like it. Thank you!


	2. I: New Day

YAY! The first chapter of BoA. People may wonder what is up with the title. Here is the story behind it. I was looking at a collage I made of my fav singers, and one of them was a girl named BoA. I bet my friend I could make a title & story out of her name, so I did! I am so awesome! LOL!

**Lyrics From: Letters

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I: New Day

_Even without you here, the sun rises._

The sun rose & shone though the one window inside of the house. Vincent, who hated the sunlight, pulled his covers over his head & began to fall back asleep. Cloud however, was already wide awake & visiting Arieth's grave. He would sit there for hours having conversations with her. To him, it was as if she was still alive. He had been gone away from home for a while, so he got up early to speak with her today.

_One occasionally forgets to keep in touch when busy._

"Arieth... I visited the ruins yesterday. They seemed some what different than what I remember. They seemed, calmer, not a tense." Cloud said. He took a deep breath. "I wish you were still here. You could tell me why." He sighed. "I've also been having this strange dream ever since the Geostigma went away. I am in a burned town. There isn't any life anywhere. Then all of a sudden, you are there. Truth be told, everyone is there. Tifa, you, Denzel, everyone. We all talk & catch up. The only one not there is Vincent & I don't understand why."

"Cloud... I fell left out." A voice came from behind Cloud. Cloud turned to see Vincent standing there. Vincent walked over and sat next to Cloud. "How long have you been talking to her?" Vincent asked.

"Oh. Umm... a few hours I guess. Since before sunrise." Cloud says. Vincent just shakes his head.

"You really are hopeless you know." Vincent says, half-joking half-serious. Cloud continues to stare at the tombstone. Vincent looked to Cloud , seeing his is kinda hurt at his words. "Hey, I was totally kidding Cloud."

"I know."

"Then, why do you seem so down?" Vincent asked.

"Do I really really sound like I am down?" Cloud asked a bit surprised. Vincent chuckled.

"A little. You sound more depressed than me." Cloud smiled on hearing this. He knew Vincent has changed a lot since they first met. Vincent was trying to cheer him up, and it was working.

_It's the beginning of a new day._

After talking a little more, the two friends desided to go inside. Vincent went ahead of Cloud. Cloud was just about to enter the house, when a voice called to him

"Cloud..." it whisperd "Cloud..."

"Who's there?" Cloud asked, hoping he wasn't losing his mind.

"Behind you." The voice rang. Cloud jerked around to see a girl dressed in a white cloak.

"Who are you?" Cloud asked her.

"I guess you could called me... a friend." She replied. Cloud took a closer look at her. Her eyes were covered, but Cloud could see that her hair was ember red. It was long & in a neat little braid that rested on her shoulder. He didn't know anyone who had red hair except for Reno, and he was a guy, so that kind of narrowed the choices. "I have something for you & your friend." She pulled out a small tan envolope & handed it to Cloud. Cloud took it and stared at it.

"Who is this from?" he asked her. The girl giggled a bit.

"It's from me." she said. "But you're going to have to read it." she said, tauntingly. Cloud stared at her, then back at the envolope.

"But, I don't understand why..." He started. As he lifted his head, he noticed that she was gone. Cloud looked once again at the envolope. He scanned the Address & name ofthe person who sent it. When his eyes glanced over the name, his eyes widened.

"Vincent." he called

"Yeah? What is it?" Vincent replied.

"I think... we mave have trouble coming."

_It's always a letter...

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I left you at sucha cliffhanger! Bwahaha! I am so evil:Tries to be evil: Ahh, who amI kidding? I can't be evil... I am to nice. :Angelic music: ALRIGHT! I am not that nice! LOL! 


	3. II: Always Happiness

YIPPIE! I got Chapter II done! WHEEE! I added some new elements to it, so I hope you enjoy it. Oh yeah, BTW: You will need to know it is late Septemember in my book for some things to make sense. Oh yeah, not as many lyrics this time around. Oh well, ENJOY!

**Lyrics From: The Wandering

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**II: Always Happiness

_Do you want to wander farther on?_

"I think... we mave have trouble coming." Cloud said to Vincent.

"What do you mean 'trouble'? What's going on Cl--?" Vincet said. He was forced to stop when he saw the tan envolope that Cloud held in his hands. "Wha--- what is that?" Vincent asked, shaking.

"A letter... I think. But, I can't believe who sent this." Cloud said, glanicing over the envolope once more to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Who's it from?" Vincent asked, now curious about it. Cloud didn't say. Instead he handed the letter to Vincent. Vincent looked at the name.

"Iivy Ivback." Vincent read. "So, what's the big deal about that?" Vincent asked, a bit confused by his friends reaction to this name.

"Iivy was... my friend, back before we went on my first mission; before I met you & everyone. She was like my Sister almost." Cloud said, sighing as he did.

"So?" Vincent replied at this somewhat odd reaction. "Why is it such a big deal?"

"Iivy, she died... nearly 3 years before I left." At this, Vincent's eyes widenend.

_Come back._

Cloud and Vincent walked inside and sat at the table. The two were silent, reflecting on this who thing. A letter from a dead person? What was it all about? They wanted to read the letter, but what surprises would lie ahead of them after they did? It was all to much for both of them. It wasn't until Vincent spoke, that the silence was broken.

"Dammit! I can't sit in silence. Just open the envolope for Jenova's sake!" Cloud jerked at this rather loud remark by his friend. He stared at his friend, who was silently egging him on to open the darn thing so they could get it over with. Cloud finally turned his head & ripped the seal off of the envolope. When he did, a single slip of paper fell out of it. Cloud grabbed it & silently read it to himself. "Well..." Vincent said. "What does it say?"

"It says... Upon a midnight dreary; many quaint & curious volume of forgotten lore. A tapping gently rapping; Some Visitor; Only this and nothing more."

"The Raven." Vincent said. "Those exercts are from a poem called 'The Raven'. Lucia, she loved that poem, I remember."

"But what does it have to do with what is going on now? Who sent this & why?" Cloud said, a bit fustrated. He knew that this was nonsense.

"Maybe it's clues?" Vincent suggested. Cloud lifted his head.

"That could be it. But, again what does it mean?" Cloud replied. Vincent thought to.

"What does the first clue say?" Vincent asked.

"Oh. Umm... it says 'upon a midnight dreary' I think." Cloud said. Truthfully, he wasn't particually paying attention to the letter anymore. I think he was more concered about how his childhood friend sent it to him & how she was standing in front of him & he didn't even think much of it. Cloud remained in a daze until Vincent forced him to come back to reality by figuring out what the phrase ment.

"We have to wait. 'A midnight dreary' means a dark night; a New Moon. If tonight is a New Moons..."

"That's not what it means." Cloud said. "We have to wait for the Dark of the Moon (1)." Cloud finished. One thing Cloud was good at & never told anyone was that he knew most of the Moon Cycles that no one had heard of before. "But, wait. That means that the person could appear any one of th three days of Dark of the Moon."

"Yeah, but remember the next clue?"

"'Many quaint & curious volume of forgotten lore.'? What does that mean?"

"It means, it's going to be Silent Night (2). After that, the rest is self-explainitory. She will come to our door & knock; That's were we come in." Vincent explained. Cloud looked totally lost.

"Alright. Ya lost me at the 'That's were we come in' thing" Cloud told his friend. Cloud was trying really hard to understand, but Vincent was the logic thinker, not him. Vincent just sighed. Once again, he had to do all the work.

"'Some Visitor; Only this and nothing more.' means that we should be expecting anyone, so we have to pretend that it was just an out-of-the-blue meeting." Cloud frowend at this.

"Whoa! You expect me, to wait nearly four months knowing about this, then act as if I never even knew! If this is Iivy, how am I going to pull that off?" Vincent chuckled at this statement by Cloud. To Vincent, Cloud was blowing things out of porpotion... again.

"Yes. That is exactly what I expect you to do." Vincent told his friend. Cloud gasped a bit at his friend. Vincent had seen Cloud do many things before, but nothing like this. After that conversation, the two didn't speak for the rest of this night. Fact is, they didn't speak to each other for nearly four months.

_Come back to the spring, faithful & tender..._

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Ok, here's Chapter II. :Braces Self: OK, I know this chapter totally SUCKS! But,I promise it will make sense later. Oh yeah, below me are some notes I thought to add to make to story make a little more sense.

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(1) Dark of the Moon---This is a 3 day period where the Moon is hidden from view. At this point the Sun is energizing the Moon, preparing for its journey once again. 

(2) Silent Night--- Christmas. Y'know, like the song.


	4. III: Start Walking

Chapter III is done! WHEE! So happy. This is a short chapter that is going to be intertwined with Chapter IV, so pay attention. Umm... Please keep in mind I am writing this story very late at night, so If something doesn't make sense, well... sorry 'bout that. Sorry.

**Lyrics From: Guidepost

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**III: Start Walking

_In the passing time_

Christmas, usually a time of joy & excitment. But, for Cloud & Vincent, it is a time of high tension & suspence. Tonight, there visiter was to arrive. Vincent was, truth, a bit nervous, but Cloud was more than nervous. More of a, nervous wreck. Not the fact that this could be his old Childhood friend who died; more or less it was the fact that she _was_ dead that creeped him out a bit.

_I'll go to see you so_

About three weeks after the incident, Cloud went back to his childhood home to make sure that Iivy was indeed dead. When he arrived at the Cemetary, there is stood. A tombstone reading "Here lies Iivy Ivback..."

"So..." Cloud said to his friends grave. "Is this the gost of you are something Iivy? 'Cause, I can only imagine. If you are still the same person now, that you were back when, we are in for a journey we will never forget." Cloud said as he sat down. After couping with the death of his girlfriend, Cloud had devolped this habit of talking to graves. He claimed that they helped him whenever he had troubles. He talked with Iivy for nearly two hours before returning home. Gentle white flakes now covered the ground. But, with this new snow, came new things. Vincent had, for some reason, turned back to his normal easily aggitated, cynical self after the letter had been recieved.

_I become myself_

After the clock had read 11:45, Vincent was the one to speak.

"Now, listen. If this girl turns out to really be your "dead" friend, don't make a big deal out of it..."

"Again." They both said at the same time. Cloud knew that Vincent would say this. It had been the only thing important that Vincent actually said during the four months of prepeation for the meeting. It was getting a bit annoying.

"I just don't want our chance to find out whats going on to be gone if _we_ mess this up." Although Vincent didn't notice, Cloud had noted that Vincent said 'we' and not 'you'. That meant that Cloud knew that Vincent was going to keep himself in check as well. As Cloud was walking by Vincent to go get ready, Cloud stopped to ask him something.

"Vincent?"

"Yeah..." Vincent replied Monotoned

"A few months ago, the las t time we visited Midgar..." Clous studdered

"What about it?" Vincent said. "Did you feel anything?"

"No... but, I did feel like you had something to tell me, but you weren't letting it out. What was it?" Cloud asked. Vincent, shocked that Cloud remembered this, when even more pale for a second.

"Well, I..." Vincent started. "I..." Before he could finish, the clock rang 12 times. Just then, some one knocked at the door."Can we talk later?" Vincent asked Cloud nodded & took his place sitting on a chair next to the sofa while Vincent went to answer the door. "Hello." he said as he opened the door. "I wasn't expecting anyone tonight; please come in."

"Thank you." The girl replied. Cloud watched the door, hoping to see the girl before she sat down. He caught a tiny glimps of her read hair, the her white cloak. Apperently, she had pulled it over he head because when she arrived in the area where Cloud was, here eyes were covered once more. The girl sat on the table, paying no mind to the flower vase she nearly knocked over. " I assume you both know why I am here?" she asked. Vincent & Cloud looked at each other confused.

"Actually..." Cloud started.

"Yes, we do." Vincent said. Cloud looked to his friend & the girl smirked.

"Good." she said. "That will save a lot of time. Now, I want to get straight to the point... so gentleman..." she said, pulling off her cloak. Cloud turned immediatly around. When the girl pulled off her cloak, it revealed her beautiful long darkened red hair & stunning emerald colored eyes. "Now..." she said "Let's start "walking"."

_I can start walking, on the path leading to the future..._**

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**Ok, please keep details in mind when reading this short chapter. They will play a part later in the story. Just thought I'd give ya a heads up.


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